# interior

Pronunciation: US say "in-TEER-ee-ur" /ɪnˈtɪ.ɹi.ɚ/; UK say "in-TEER-ee-uh" /ɪnˈtɪə.ɹɪ.ə/

## Noun

1. The inner part of an enclosed structure, such as a building, a container, or a cavern.
   - Simple: The inside part of a building, box, or other closed space.
   - _The cathedral's interior was lit by hundreds of flickering candles._
   - _Engineers inspected the interior of the storage tank for cracks._
3. The inner regions of a country, far from its borders or coasts.
   - Simple: The middle parts of a country, far from its edges or the sea.
   - _Vast rivers drain the continent's interior toward the distant sea._
   - _The expedition mapped the unexplored interior over many months._

## Adjective

2. Describing something that lies or happens on the inside of something else, such as a wall, room or surface, rather than on its outside.
   - Simple: On the inside of something, not on the outside.
   - _The building's interior staircase connects all five floors._
   - _Interior lighting transformed the once-dark gallery into a warm space._
4. Describing a place, people or area found inland, far from a country's coast or borders.
   - Simple: Far from the coast or border of a country, deep inland.
   - _Interior provinces depend on rail links to reach the distant ports._
   - _The interior plateau remains cut off through the long winter months._
5. Within a country, concerned with its own domestic affairs rather than with relations abroad.
   - Simple: Inside a country, and having to do with its own matters, not with other countries.
   - _The interior ministry issues national identity cards and keeps the register of voters._
   - _Before the war, the empire's interior trade grew faster than its trade with other nations._

## Other meanings

- (noun) In topology, the largest open subset contained within a given set: all the points that lie strictly inside, excluding its boundary.

## Origin

From Latin interior, meaning "inner" or "interior".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/interior (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).